Bombardier and the FAA are in the final stages of earning certification in fourth quarter for the Learjet 75 as an amendment to the Learjet 45 type certificate. Other than a series of weight increases and internal engine upgrades for the original Model 45, the Model 75 is the first major modification to the aircraft since it entered service in late 1997. The new derivative will fly eight passengers 1,775 nm, 4% farther than current production aircraft. Half of the improvement is due to new blended winglets that both decrease drag and increase span.
Rockwell Collins has opened a new customer support center with increased staffing levels, expanded hours and enhanced technology that will provide commercial aviation customers with a higher level of service through a single point of contact. The center is staffed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central time, 365 days a year, and has staff on-call for after-hours support. Customer calls are answered by an expanded team of product support managers with specialized training tools and are equipped to answer questions immediately with a goal of resolution within 24 hr.
Awards and Honors Actor and accomplished pilot Harrison Ford received this year's NBAA's Al Ueltschi Award for Humanitarian Leadership. In addition to his extensive work as an outspoken champion for general aviation, Ford regularly files missions in support of humanitarian and philanthropic causes. He has participated in the Citation Special Olympics Airlift and works with the Corporate Angel Network.
I've never taken the time to write back on an article before, but having read “Checking the Descent” (Viewpoint, August 2013) I wanted to share an in-the-trenches view from someone who is trying to start a flight school and get more people into aviation on a day-to-day basis. In my opinion, the biggest issues (behind the declining pilot population) are not what you mention. They're symptoms and not the cause. There is only one reason: Cost. General aviation has become too expensive.
Chicago Jet Group, a Universal Avionics authorized dealer, received the first Future Air Navigation System (FANS) retrofit certification on a Dassault Falcon 50 with the UniLink UL-801 Communication Management Unit (CMU) with an internal VHF VDL Mode 2 receiver. It's interfaced with dual UNS-1Lw FMSes and International Communications Group's (ICG) NxtLink ICS-220A Iridium Satcom. Universal's CVR-120A was also installed for required FANS datalink message recording.
These included: Ensure that unstabilized approach and go-around policies are clear, concise and unambiguous, including follow-up procedures for non-compliance. Emphasize the importance of good monitoring by both pilots since that can affect the safe execution of a go-around. Operations manuals must contain a strongly worded policy statement that no punitive action will follow a go-around.
I found “NOTAMs in Transition” (January 2013) to be an excellent article. As a member of the FAA's NOTAM working group we have been pushing for NOTAM improvements for many years, in fact since 2000. Your last paragraph captures the problem perfectly: Stop-and-Go Funding. I would love to see more articles on NOTAMS particularly from the dispatcher's perspective or more importantly explaining the role of the dispatcher. Manager Dispatch Operations
Beechcraft Corp. completed a demonstration of a Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System Situational Awareness (SINCGARS SA) Waveform capability, using its AT-6 light attack aircraft in concert with the U.S. Air Force Air National Guard and Georgia Tech Research Institute.
Version 3.0 of AIRNC Direct's iPad app is now available. It includes an ARINC Direct website component that allows pilots to schedule documents for upload, and a component that give users access to all of their files on iPads and on the web. Documents can be assigned to a specific leg, aircraft or user, and can also be copied from one location to another. The app is available in the Apple App Store. ARINC Direct www.arinc.com
Pan Am's service and engineering support for the Mystere 20 will not include the crews, Alvin P. Adams told the NBAA. “We are not going to crew or man these airplanes with Pan American people. We've always been misquoted on this.”
To learn more about IS-BAO, visit the International Business Aviation Council's website — www.ibac.org. There you will find information about the work that IBAC does and how to go about becoming IS-BAO registered. There is also helpful information and links to other safety related topics.
Dassault's third-generation enhanced avionics system (EASy) mainly uses Honeywell Primus equipment. The layout is similar to EASy cockpits in legacy Falcon Jets, featuring four flat-panel screens arranged in a T configuration. There also will be left- and right-side EFBs outside of the PFDs, a next-generation FMS with 4-D navigation and a solid-state RDR 4000 with volumetric scanning. Available functions will include CPDLC, ADS-B out, RNP 0.3 and LPV approach, along with synthetic vision.
Magellan Jets has introduced a new 25-hr. Wi-Fi Jet card, underscoring the importance of Wi-Fi capabilities on charter aircraft. The card guarantees flights aboard later model midsize or super-midsize jets that are equipped with Wi-Fi. “Wi-Fi is arguably the biggest market driver in charter today, and the 25-hr. Wi-Fi Jet Card addresses that demand perfectly,” says Magellan CEO Joshua Hebert.
Years ago as an Associated Press reporter covering the Florida legislature, I witnessed debate over a bill involving television. While I've forgotten the details, I do recall it centered on the future availability of hundreds of channels. At the time, the maximum available was 13. Seriously. I was astounded by the scale. After all, what kind of programming could possibly fill all those channels?
RUAG Aviation is now authorized to perform the full range of maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade services for the McDonnell Douglas MD 500, 600 and 900 series helicopters. The Maintenance Organisation Exposition (MOE) rating was received earlier this year and supplements the company's established helicopter maintenance and modernization services. RUAG has begun upgrades for MD helicopters including the integration of an advanced avionics suite in an MD 520N and the installation of modern TV broadcasting equipment on an MD 900. RUAG Aviation
This is Learjet's golden anniversary, and Clay Lacy, a longtime friend of William P. “Bill” Lear and one of the aircraft's original distributors, bore witness from the start. The first Learjet 23 flew on Oct. 7, 1963. In July the following year, it became the first general aviation aircraft to be certified to the then new FAR Part 23 standards. Powered by two 2,850 lb.-thrust GE CJ610 turbojets and sporting go-fast lines, it was an instant phenomenon. But once certification was won, Lear had more hurdles to overcome.
ADB Airfield Solutions has introduced AD-light Low Protrusion Taxiway Lights. The improved lights overcome drawbacks of older versions wherein no part of the prism is located below the surface of the ground, avoiding loss of photometry. They can be used in CAT I, II and III, as taxiway centerline lights, in straight and curved runway sections, on rapid exit taxiways, as stop bars and intermediate holding position lights, among other applications.
Sentient Jet, the Boston-based jet card and charter sales provider, is expanding its product portfolio, a move the company says is a response to sales that have reached levels not seen since before the financial crisis in 2008. “We started to see a sharp increase in jet card sales at the beginning of the year — a trend that continued throughout the summer,” says Sentient Jet President Andrew Collins. “We sold about 11,000 hr.
“A lot of the places you go, you might have to talk people through the process, but these guys knew what they were doing, very competent and impressive.” This was the appraisal of a long-range business jet captain employed by a major U.S. technology company about the quality of ground support he'd received at Gimpo International Airport during a recent trip to the Republic of South Korea.
Universal Avionics announced its Control Display Unit (CDU) emulator iPad application for the Flight Management System (FMS) Trainer software. It's available for the iPad and supports life-size touch-sensitive emulation of Universal's 4-in. CDU, 5-in. CDU and Multi-function CDU. The app sends the FMS trainer CDU display screen to the iPad, and key pushes from the simulated CDU are then sent back to the FMS Trainer via a wireless network. The CDU emulator app allows operators to experience realistic, hands-on training in FMS operations.
West Star Aviation, East Alton, Ill., announced that Cristian Byman has joined the company as technical sales manager-Avionics at the East Alton, Ill., facility. Craig Winterrowd has joined the company as as regional sales manager in California. Awards and Honors
Shadin Avionics now has TSO approval on the initial release of its flyTab Aircraft Interface Module (AIM), a data converter that integrates an iPad into the cockpit accessing real time flight data for iPad applications. The AIM was developed in collaboration with the Avionics & Systems Integration Group, as a part of the flyTab Class 2 Electronic Flight Bag announced in 2012. The current model provides an ARINC 429 interface for two iPads from a single unit. Shadin Avionics St. Louis Park, Minn.
The search is on for bad players in the Avantair bankruptcy. Beth Ann Sharrer, a court appointed trustee says she is “actively reviewing the debtor's books and records to determine whether the estate has any causes of action against the Officers or other directors and officers of the Debtor, including but not limited to claims for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, or self-dealing.” She has also filed a notification that FAA has issued emergency orders of suspension of most of the Avantair fleet.
If you want a solid indicator of where the economy is heading in the next few years, watch the private aviation industry. From the 1980s to today, economic data shows that when the private aviation and small aircraft manufacturing industries are doing well, so is the rest of the economy. If you want to get ahead of market trends, watch and see how much money banks are loaning the leaders of industry to finance corporate jets. The spending trend here is usually ahead of the rest of the market. Think of corporate jets as a high-end stimulus package.
